


You're Worth Something

by MerylAM573



Category: THE iDOLM@STER, The iDOLM@STER Sidem
Genre: Anime: The iDOLM@STER SideM, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 17:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17532713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerylAM573/pseuds/MerylAM573
Summary: Everybody has their bad days. Even the fun loving little devil, Shouta, who had recalled bad memories and words, beginning to feel down in the dumps. He would lay in self loathing on a couch in the office, as Touma searches for him.When Touma does find him, however, he's quite surprised at his unit mate's current state. Why would he feel so down? Is Jupiter's leader able to help poor Shouta feel better?"It's... it's not true. Y-you're just lying to me. It means nothing!"





	You're Worth Something

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey hey their relationship in this fic is platonic! just wanna make this clear before we get into the fic, bc these dudes are good friends even though Shouta's a little shit sometimes.  
> that being said hes still my son and i love him

On Shouta's bad days, he tends to grow eerily silent, besides the occassional hiccup due to failing to hold back his tears. He self deprecates and spirals, but holds tight to a throw pillow.

"Shouta?" Touma opened the door and peeked in. He had been searching all day for his unit mate. Shouta only looked up briefly, not saying a word.  
"Where've you been? We've been looking all over for you!" His friend looked down again.  
"Seriously, if you're playing pranks again, it's not funny." Touma crossed his arms and sighed, leaning onto the door.  
"It's all I'm good for anyway." Shouta finally replied after a short period of silence, not batting an eye.  
"What? The hell are you talking about?"

Shouta never got like this. Sure, he'd drift off a lot on this couch, but he wouldn't just lay in self loathing like this. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he'd been crying for a long time.  
"You heard me. I'm loud and annoying and only good for stupid pranks." What? What is he talking about? But the memory returned quickly, of the time the leader of Jupiter complained about his unit mates way back when, but complimented them in return.  
"I said you deliver though, didn't I? Besides, that was ages ago." Touma made his way to the small couch his friend lay on.

Ages ago. His opinion has changed. Touma steadily learned to control his anger, Hokuto toned down his flirty nature for the sake of his safety, and Shouta had grown more mature and kind towards others. But did that really mean anything? If Touma's opinions have changed, they could have changed to hate him more.  
"I've gone through no changes. Why don't you just hate me now?" Shouta sighed.  
"Why would I? You really have gotten more mature since we were in 961." Despite his best efforts, Touma couldn't get through to his friend so far.

"I'm still a burden to Jupiter, aren't I?" Now where did this come from? This just isn't Shouta. Not the fun loving little devil friend and fellow idol Touma knew every day. The poor kid was hurting, but why? Why was he so down?

"Hey, you're starting to scare me. Really, what's wrong?" The 17 year old sat down right next to his unit mate.  
"You wouldn't care." He hadn't said "you wouldn't understand", a common phrase for people Shouta's age to say. But finally, Touma understood his friend's troubles. He believed his unit's leader didn't even care for him.

The realization hit poor Touma harder than a dodgeball. What did he do wrong? Why would Shouta believe such a thing? Did what he say that long ago hurt him that harshly?  
"Why?" Just one simple word was all it took to get Jupiter's youngest member to snap.  
"Why?! Why else do you think?! I act like some brat all the time and get everyone down! You said it yourself! Why don't you just get the Producer to kick me out already?! You don't want or need me here anyway..." He trailed off and buried his face into a pillow.

Shouta isn't wanted? Who told him that? It wasn't their old producer, was it? Touma felt anger rising, but took a deep breath.  
"That's not true. You can successfully backflip in 'Alice or Guilty' can't you? What about that time I screwed up so hard while cooking and broke down? You wouldn't let me send Saki and Ryo home before they even got to my place. You got me back to my senses. Don't you remember that?" Of course Shouta remembered. But that doesn't automatically make him important or anything but a burden. They were just words. Words of pity. Words full of pure lies.

"You're just saying that." Shouta felt tears welling up in his eyes, he blinked them back.  
"I'm not! I swear every word I say is true." Knowing Touma, he rarely lied, especially not in a situation like this one. But the 14 year old's brain was in such a jumble that his words weren't believable. However he felt himself coming back to his senses ever so slowly.

The words began to replay in his head, and as a result, he felt the tears coming in a wave.  
"It's... it's not true. Y-you're just lying to me. It means nothing!" Shouta's voice shook as he dug his face deeper into the throw pillow.  
"It does mean something! I promise you I'm not lying. I mean every word I've said." Touma moved closer to his friend and heard a choked sob coming from him.  
"Hey, c'mon Shouta. You see how I get when you cry like that." He sighed and wrapped his arm around his unit mate.  
"...C'mere." Shouta latched onto him, wailing into his ear.

His crying was significantly louder now. It was so close to Touma's ear. The sound was deafening, yet heart wrenching.  
"Jeez... you're gonna get me g-going now too." The leader of Jupiter confirmed his statement just as he said it, he choked back a loud sob. He wasn't quite sure Shouta heard him speak until both of them realized how uncontrollable their crying was.

The two sat in one another's embrace for at least 10 minutes. Touma was never one to cry when somebody else was, unless it was Shouta. In that case, he would weep right back.  
"F-feeling better?" Touma wiped his eyes with his sleeve, finding himself having trouble breathing.  
"Mhm. You don't sound to hot yourself." Shouta chuckled. He had been much better in comparison.  
"You know how I get, Shouta." The 17 year old sighed, yet he smiled.

"Just remember you're worth something, okay?" Shouta nodded. He was worth something. No matter what it was, he was worth it. Worth fighting for. Worth fighting with. He can bring something new to the table, as long as he keeps going. Shouta grinned as this thought filled his head.

"Yeah, I know. ...Thanks, Touma."  
"No problem."

**Author's Note:**

> im actually p proud of this shitty little thing, i dunno why, but even though i usually go a little tiny bit canon divergent and include headcannons, i wanted to put some more canon on the table this time around.
> 
> i did my best!!


End file.
